Every Year 40 Million Red Crabs Take Over Christmas Island to Mate and Spawn

Each year 40 million red crabs take a cue from weather and the Moon to take over Christmas Island and mate in droves. Their journey is the subject of episode six of the series That’s Amazing, a collaboration between Great Big Story and The Weather Channel.

Every year in late October, Christmas Island sees red. LOTS of red. During the annual crab migration, the island’s endemic red crabs travel from their home on the rainforest floor to the shore to mate and spawn. This mass migration of around 40 million crabs is a spectacular sight to behold.